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SWISS TRADITIONS

Why a Swiss village is refusing to ban cowbells despite noise complaints

Cowbells — or rather their ringing — are at the centre of controversy in the Swiss community of Aarwangen. Just how important are they to Swiss culture?

Published: 2 November 2023 11:38 CET
Why a Swiss village is refusing to ban cowbells despite noise complaints
The bell stays, complainers move out. Image by erge from Pixabay

Disputes over cowbells are nothing new in Switzerland, where disagreements between the pro-cow factions and residents who like to have a good night’s sleep occasionally erupt (read more about this below).

The latest such incident is ongoing in the small community of Aarwangen, in canton Bern.

The peaceful existence of this picturesque village was disrupted by two newly arrived couples, who lodged a complaint with the municipal authorities against the around-the-clock ringing of cowbells emanating from nearby pastures.

The complaint sparked an uproar among the residents, who decided to take the bull by the horns and launch a referendum to preserve the bell ringing — not just from cows, but also from churches.

About 1,100 people (approximately a third of those eligible to vote) have signed a petition to this effect so far.

“It’s about much more than animal bells. It’s about the Swiss way of life, what we care for, and how we want to preserve the culture and traditions of our country,” Andreas Baumann, president of Aarwangen’s pro-bell committee, told SRF public broadcaster.

In view of the mounting resistance, one of the couples has withdrawn their complaint, while the other pair are planning to move away.

Nevertheless, Aarwangen must now officially regulate how to incorporate the sound of bells within the community’s noise protection ordinance, an issue which will be debated at the next municipal meeting.

Meanwhile, the cowbell dispute has even made it into the local museum, which has organised a special exhibit on the subject.

“Disputes like the one in Aarwangen are not about noise, volume or decibels,” said museum director Jana Fehrensen “It’s about tolerance.”

Other cases
 
Aarwangen is certainly not the first (and likely not the last) community to have a beef with bell ringing

In fact, courts all over the country are constantly dealing with this issue.

These are just some of the examples:

In 2021, an Aargau court decided that cows should be bell-less from 10 pm until early morning.
 
In 2019, the municipal assembly of Bauma (Zurich) ruled that cowbells do not make noise. This means that residents can no longer submit complaints about the ringing..

In 2018, the Federal Court ruled that the ringing of bells in the particular location in question had been part of local customs and must be preserved.
 
No cowbells, no Swiss passport

In 2017, the media reported that a Dutch woman in canton Aargau had her request for Swiss citizenship refused for the second time because she was campaigning against cowbells resounding in her village. 

She did, however, obtain her citizenship on a third attempt.

All this goes to prove that in the ongoing noise-versus-cow battle, the bovines nearly always win.

READ ALSO: Why are cows so important in Switzerland?

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WEATHER

Will Switzerland be visited by ‘Ice Saints’ this year?

Ascension is not the only annual happening in the country in May, as Switzerland also ‘celebrates’ another 'chilling' event this month.

Published: 8 May 2024 14:20 CEST
Will Switzerland be visited by 'Ice Saints' this year?

From May 11th to the 15th, a meteorological event takes place each year in Switzerland.

It “observes”, though admittedly not on scientific basis, a centuries-old weather phenomenon called “Ice Saints”.

What exactly is it?

As its name suggests, it is related to saints, as well as ice and frost.

The saints in question are St Mamertus, St Pancras, St Servatius and St Boniface.

According to a weather lore, once these Ice Saints have passed through Switzerland in the middle of May, frost will no longer pose a threat to farmers and their land.

As the official government meteorological service MeteoSwiss explains it, “spring frosts have been a regular occurrence for centuries, giving rise to the traditional belief that a blast of cold air often arrives in the middle of May. Over time, this piece of weather lore became known as the Ice Saints.”

Fact versus myth

You may be wondering whether the Ice Saints lore actually has basis in reality.

Records, which date back to 1965 and originate from the Geneva-Cointrin, Payerne, and Zurich-Kloten weather stations, “clearly show that, over the long-term average, frost directly above the soil is only a regular occurrence up until the middle of April”, MeteoSwiss says. “After that, the frequency with which ground frost occurs progressively declines to almost zero by the end of May.”

“We can conclude, therefore, that there is no evidence in Switzerland to confirm the Ice Saints as a period in May when ground frost is more common.”

However, MeteoSwiss does concede that “ground frost is nevertheless a regular occurrence throughout May as a whole…having occurred at least once or twice in May every year, and in around 40 percent of the years there were more than two days in May with ground frost.”

What about this year?

MeteoSwiss weather forecast for the next seven days indicates that, this year too, no frost will be present on the ground in mid-May.

In fact, temperatures through much of Switzerland will be in double digits, reaching between 18C and 25C, depending on the region.

You can see what to expect in your area, here. 

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